rambles – The Farmer's Blogger

Family Adventure Day

Posted on May 5, 2023April 25, 2023 by Farmers Blogger

Hello Friends!
I took the family on an adventure in and around Boise recently, and let me tell you, it’s been a minute since I have been to a bigger city. I was a little out of my element, but it was so fun!

So, we had two goals in mind, one was to find the Reuseum, and one was to find a kitchen store. We were successful on both fronts and had some great food to boot!

So first, what is a “Reuseum”? It’s super cool, it’s basically like a tech-centered thrift store, maker space, and STEM learning space all in one. We rattled around the retail space looking at everything from old radio equipment, to old monitors, some old camera equipment, and refurbished computers. Plus just lots of odds and ends, actuators, soldering supplies, every kind of nut and bolt you could think of. It was really awesome! They also have a “maker space” which I love. It’s super cool to see more and more places like that opening up. It’s basically a shop with various tools for machining and building, usually specialized things that may be hard or impractical for the hobbyist to own, that you can come in and use for a fee. Think things like 3D printers or grinding wheels, milling machines, things like that. If you’ve ever watched Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) on Tested (his YouTube channel), he has a very extensive maker space style shop. Finally, they have STEM classrooms for kiddos, where they host various classes throughout the month, like build-a-robot and learn-to-code classes to get kiddos interested in math and science. I’m sure, since my official job title is “software engineer”, you can guess how excited I get about making STEM accessible.

We managed to surprise Dad with some old radio equipment from an old police car they had for sale. He brought it home and was able to plug it in and, after a little clean up, get it working again. Dad just loves old police memorabilia. I guess you can’t be a second generation, thirty year vet of the force without a little vested interest, huh? I wonder if I’ll be that nostalgic about old tech when I’m 30 years into my career. More pressing question, I wonder if I’ll still be in my career in 26 years and what my field will even look like. Dad says police work really changed over the years, and I imagine I’ll be looking at that too.

We found two different kitchen stores, one a restaurant supply and one was more boutique-y. I bought a few whisks, and a giant bowl from the kitchen store, and Christopher bought a pizza pan. I’m really excited, we’ve broken so many whisks so I’ve invested in some heavy duty ones, and I’ve been wishing for a big bowl for a while. Just today we used it for dinner, but so often I’m cooking for a lot of people and need a big bowl for mixing. I was looking for a big pot with a strainer built in, but I’m still on the hunt for that for now.

The other store was really cute, they have some gorgeous spoons made with stripes of different woods, a whole matching set of spoons and stirrers. Thing was, it was a little more form over function, and while I love a good aesthetic kitchen, I need hardy tools that hold up to heavy work right now. They did have some cute reusable straws I really thought about, but they were metal and I’m not a huge fan of metal straws. At least not without the little squishy bit, ya know? Lots of niche cocktail making gear too, which always looks so fancy, but would be virtually useless in my kitchen.

Finally, we decided to eat at Tupelo Honey again, which I wrote about when I last talked about a visit to Boise. I am down there fairly often, but rarely for “fun”, like window shopping for just goofing off. So, it was fun to splurge on a nice lunch, and no one else had been there so it was an exciting new experience for them. I had a shrimp po’boy, which honestly I am still thinking about.

It’s been just crazy busy around here with errands, adventures, work stuff, and holidays. Not to mention birthdays, new cousins on the way, and the very beginnings for spring prep (if the weather would cooperate). I’ve been trying to find moments of peace on the farm, and I shared some in last week’s video, and finding little ways to engage in some old hobbies as a way to settle. Share with me, what do you guys do when you need a little calm in the midst of a fun, but crazy, world?

Until we chat again, my friends!

Can Someone Explain To Me…

Refill my Grain Containers with Me!

Posted on March 3, 2023February 14, 2023 by Farmers Blogger

Am I getting better at this? No. BUT! I did learn how to adjust the blur so… small wins!

Look, Sometimes I Think I’m Funny…

Posted on December 23, 2022December 15, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

Anyone else talk to themselves and the household appliances whilst they clean? No? Just me? Welp, Christopher thought it was funny too, so here’s the transcripts of a few snippets he recorded from my latest cleaning day, hope you laugh as hard as I did. Don’t worry, Christmas content will be next week.

Ode to the Kirby (or Cleaning Plaster Dust Out of EVERYTHING)

“Alright, it’s been a minute, vacuum”

“Look, all we gotta do is work together, neither of us wanna do this all day”

“Why aren’t you going?”

“ROLL D*MM*T”

“Why the h*ll do you weigh so much?”

“Why? aren’t. you… oh wait, neutral, got it”

“Down, down, down, down…”

*vacuum chokes on rug*

“Too much! Calm down, I didn’t mean to suffocate you with the rug”

*pops the head up a level so it can breathe*

“Freaking need a license to run the vacuum”

“Let go of the rug. Let. Go. Of the. Rug”

“Fine! Eat the rug, see if I care!”

*bangs wall*

“Oops sorry.”

*bangs it again*

“Sorry, again.”

“How do I…”

“Ooh that spins”

“Does that move?” *clanking noise* “sh*t, yes it does”

“Hey Dad… no, no, house is fine, we’re fine… yea, no, hypothetically if I wanted to put the hose on the Kirby… *chorus of okays* …so the whole nose piece DOES come off…”

*waving the hose attachment wildly* “Come at me dust!”

*humming along to the vacuum*

“rooms gonna be SO clean”

*more humming*

“let go of the rug. Unhelpful”

“Oooh I can reach the top of the mirror!!”

*humming*

“Oh. But how do I know when it’s clean?”

*confused in 5 ft*

“Well that’s between God and the dust mites now”

*accidentally sucks up an earring* “welp…that might as well happen”

*aggressive mocking of the dust bunnies*

*accidentally sucks up pencil* “how even…”

*realizes why you don’t get plaster dust wet* “no it’s fine, I wanted to skim coat my entire floor”

*realizes I did the same thing to the desk* “…uuuhhhhmmm, welp….”

*panic kicks in and a mad dash is made to the kitchen for paper towels* “sh*t, sh*t, sh*t,sh*t…”

*aggressively mocks the plaster dust*

*bangs into wall* “okay, look, that one was partially on you” *bangs wall again* “okay, that one was me”

“I wonder…”

*pops Kirby into neutral whilst vacuuming and now can gently pull the body along while vacuuming with the hose*

“H*ll yes, just a genius over here”

*trips over rug the Kirby pulled along with it*

“Nope nevermind, just your garden variety idiot”

“Down, down, down, down…”

*vacuum chokes on the rug*

“Too much, I get it, I get it”

*accidentally sucks up earbud that mysteriously decided it didn’t wanna do its job anymore* “are you f****g serious?!”

“Hey Dad… no, no, house is still fine, we’re still fine… yea, no, hypothetically if i wanted to pull the bag off the Kirby…” *chorus of okays* “…no, no, gotcha, big mess, makes sense…”

*staring at giant pile of gross on the floor*

“a smarter human would have put cardboard down”

*disappointed sighing*

“But, we are not the smarter humans”

“Seriously, stop eating my rugs, you’re a 22 year old vacuum, you know better.”

Okay, I know it’s not the normal content, but I really did laugh at the fact my brother was so amused at my conversation with the vacuum, and I wanted to share something a little lighthearted since this time of year can be stressful. I can’t share the actual recordings because my sweet brother is a little self conscious of his adorable laugh, and he’s laughing at me through the whole recording.

Second point to note, I absolutely adore the Kirby, not sponsored or anything, but that vacuum is a workhorse and very versatile, and almost as old as I am with a way better work ethic. It’s just a little big and unwieldy for someone of my size (remember I stopped growing in the seventh grade).

Until we chat again my friends!

It’s a Busy Home…

Posted on December 16, 2022December 15, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

My house smells so good right now! One of those rare moments when I wish the blog had smell-o-vision (although, etymologically speaking, shouldn’t it be tele-olfaction? …anyways). Usually you probably wouldn’t want to smell the blog, I’m guessing it smells a lot like horse manure, eau-de-farm-doggie, and diesel. Just a hunch.

But, for real, we made almond butter cookies and my house smells like a hallmark movie. It literally smells like a good day in here. It smells like christmas! (It smells like warm vanilla, almond, and unsurprisingly, butter, but let’s be poetic for just a moment).

I generally don’t super enjoy baking, and admittedly Christmas cookies aren’t an exception, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE eating Christmas cookies so I will do my part to get the reward. Love almond butter cookies. They are a bit involved so even though every year I say “I should make these more often”… I don’t.

It’s been a crazy week on the farm. We had a water pipe go south on us that required digging up a part of the yard and calling a plumber. Then calling a diagnostic imaging company because they couldn’t find the pipe. THEN calling back the plumbers when we found the pipe four inches from where they dug the first giant hole. I’ll attach a photo of the yard now, because you can only dig a hole so many times before it turns into mud. I’m not exactly sure why it happened, something about a nylon joint going bad, but I’m just so grateful it wasn’t the septic system. It also put it on my radar that I should really have the septic system serviced in the spring. Added to the planner.

Here’s the hole, for context, I’d disappear if I walked into that quick sand. My 5′ self would have no chance

Second thing that happened was two of my lovely cousins, who are skilled tradespeople (or skilled tradespeople in training) came over to put in an outlet for me. So my cloffice is official! I have power! Now to get shelves and such. I need to paint, because the wiring in this house, and the wall covering too, is a thing of its own. So we had to punch a few holes, and accidentally turned the power off on my dad mid shower, but it’s in and other than the color differences there’s no sign that plug in wasn’t always there. It was so cool seeing my cousins work, and my cousin who did the electrical is an apprentice, so she was really excited to do a solo job. I had to wash everything because I traded plaster for sheetrock in those holes, and both create just the most invasive dust. (Side note, there’s some potentially very dumb cleaning content headed your way, it made me laugh too hard to not share, so you’ll all have to cringe along with me next week).

My room is currently a pretty, but faded, green, and I like it a lot, so I might try to match it, BUT, I’ll add a couple pictures of the room as it is currently, and if yall have ideas I’m all ears. I’ve also, occasionally, had the urge to do some fun paint or wallpaper tricks, so I’m open to those, but wallpaper, even the peel and stick kind, is seemingly out of my price range for now. And honestly, paint feels a little less like a serious commitment, and I don’t know if I’m looking for a long term relationship with my decor choices. I don’t want to feel bad doing a refresh a couple years down the line, ya know?

Slightly older pic because it’s super stormy and dark this week and when I take new pics they keep looking grey

The snow of course made both of these things a little harder, since windows couldn’t be opened and the ground was frozen. So obviously paint will be waiting for warmer weather. But thinking about it now will prepare us for spring. And it’s just kinda fun to day dream. I’m also minorly entertaining the idea of painting the cloffice a soft pink. Of course with that thought came my brain replaying that scene from steel magnolias on loop:

“My colors are blush and bashful”

“Her colors are pink and pink”

Might be fun though.

Until we chat again, my friend

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

Posted on December 9, 2022December 8, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

I am once again calling on your expertise! It’s Christmas time officially and I need some no cost holiday fun ideas for little kids. We’ve been a house of busy working adults for so long that we sorta have our Christmas spirit in batches, and the kids are losing their minds about it.

I also need some very inexpensive but very fun Christmas gifts ideas for these kiddos. Santa is really broke this year because they’ve literally tripled my food and utilities costs and I wasn’t exactly pleased with the budget beforehand. Gotta love when a single tank of gas is your entire commute budget for the month. But I digress.

The boys have been loving napping under the tree

I plan on making some reindeer snacks for Christmas eve (and the reindeer will enjoy them sometime after the kiddos go to bed). My parents always made it look like the reindeer were super messy eaters, and I think this year that sloppy reindeer might just make a comeback. Carrots and apples for sure, and cookies for Santa.

I was planning on involving them in the cookie making process if they wanted. We always make almond butter cookies instead of sugar cookies, they have a little bit of a deeper flavor and are just a little less sweet. I’ve never heard any complaints so I think the kiddos will like them, and they make up very similarly to a sugar cookie and can be decorated just the same. We usually make a batch of chocolate almond butter cookies too, as well as a couple specialty cookies. Although I learned my lesson a couple years ago with red velvet cookies. It’ll be a while before I try those again. Messy and gross to boot. I think I messed something up, but frankly you have to use so much dye there’s not really a second chance.

I’ve added a new sweet treat to the mix since I’ve taken over the cookies portion of the holiday. We now also have no baking peanut butter chocolate bars, a recipe given to me by a friend of my grandma’s. They take about ten minutes to make and about an hour to chill (you melt and reset some chocolate) and then you have super cute little snack sized bars to eat. They are super rich but super addictive, so I always have to put them somewhere out of the way to help prevent calamity. I love little treats like that though, because for the most part, I almost always have the ingredients on hand and, other than the small scale crisis caused by attempting to measure peanut butter, they are really easy to make. Same principle as keeping premade cookie dough in the fridge, you literally never know when you might need a sweet treat.

Pretty sure we are going to have something akin to a white Christmas. I don’t know if it’ll snow or have a lot of accumulation specifically over those days but I definitely think that the conditions will be there and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Last year it was -2 degrees Christmas morning, we had around a foot of snow, and it started snowing more that afternoon. Made it difficult to feed the animals but it was really quite beautiful.

It was really funny though too, because, and I think I showed you guys in pictures, the little walkway that I throw food into the barn from was completely covered in snow. There was a large pile from the roof to be climbed every time we wanted to feed in the barn. I definitely fell off that pile several times and the horses definitely laughed at me several times, which…fair.

This year so far the snow has been… mushy? Not structures building snow so it doesn’t build into drifts or create those wind balls. Kinda just gets everything wet and muddy. I think the kiddos would like it a lot better if it was the fun fluffy stuff.

I’m somewhere in the realm of 80% done with my Christmas shopping. I’m one of those weirdos that starts planning in October and as soon as we get Halloween squared away I start slowly enacting my plans. Doesn’t always work, I definitely still have to do the December 23rd quick trip. But I’m getting more organized each year. I have to, my holiday season is packed, have you seen the size of my family? I have events every weekend of November and December and lots of weekday craziness too! This year there’s a color-coded spreadsheet. You know I’ve hit full first born, obsessive planner mode when I bust out the excel formulas. Putting on our serious Santa hats.

(It’s really quite pleasant to see all those pretty little cells though, you gotta admit).

Until we chat again my friends!

Calling All Recipe Sharers!

Posted on December 2, 2022November 28, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

The weather is really starting to get to me. Anyone have any good tips for cabin fever? Bemoaning old man winter is becoming a hobby in its own right and I don’t think I like the person I am when I’m stuck inside haha. Grumpy is an understatement. People are crossing the street when they see me. My RBF is strong this time of year.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty, but I think it’s a textural thing for me, I despise being wet for no good reason. Swimming? Fine. Bathing the animals? Fine. Watching the rain from a window or porch? lovely! But I despise being soaked because of the rain or snow. And I cannot deal with being cold. I’d flourish in the tropics…maybe.

The girls haven’t been loving it either. The blankets are heavy. While it’s better than shivering and being cold soaked, it’s still not ideal. They have a place to go and stay dry, but sometimes I think hell will freeze over before we get to that point. They would rather stand out in a blizzard than go into the warm barn, and I’m pretty sure if I forced it there would be a small scale mutiny. Nice, warm, cozy barn with multiple heat lamps? Nah, we have a random stretch of fence to guard tonight. Nellie sometimes decides she’s simply not having it and spends the evening, or overnight if she prefers, without a blanket because she is bigger than me and some battles are just too dangerous still. She’s got a pretty nice winter coat so I figure she’s old enough to know if she’s not interested. Doesn’t mean I don’t spend the whole night worrying about her.

Honey officially has all her initial shots and blood work and is properly spayed. She was such a good girl for the whole ordeal. She was pretty upset in the car and during the initial checkup understandably. I was really worried after being locked up for fasting, left at the vet, and then being on bedrest for a couple days (starting in the Joe sized travel kennel and then in the woodshop) that as soon as she got her freedom she’d take permanent leave of us. But she’s such a sweetie, she marched right up to Christopher and demanded some cuddles. She’s definitely his cat, or more accurately, he’s her person.

She might have a small meltdown when she realizes that she needs a booster shot very soon. But it’ll still be a lot less traumatic than the whole surgery thing. She’s a trooper.

In other news, I’m in need of cost friendly, large scale dinners if anyone wants to share. The kiddos that moved in with their dad are all growing like weeds and eating me out of house and home. I’m over here trying to not go broke and still make sure they are getting all they need, I’m trying to teach myself to coupon, and I’m upping my bulk buy game.

I’ve been making some pretty wild leftover “casseroles”, which just sounds better than “threw things in a pot and hoped it worked”. I hit on a pretty good one yesterday, leftover taco chicken, garlic rice, frozen spinach, and some cream of mushroom soup, plus a little seasoning. Topped it with some fried onions and let me tell you, it sounds weird but was quite warm and tasty. It was a big hit in our house, and wasn’t hard at all. I’m pretty brain dead after work, so easy is the name of the game.

Haha so ya know, not a big ask, just super cheap, super tasty, super easy meals to feed 9 people. Simple! Easy! No biggie!

(If this suddenly turns into a cheap eats blog, you know I’ve officially lost my mind. Also, if you have a favorite cheap eats blog, send me links! This girls gone full on frugal).

We do have some very cute elementary school art projects on the fridge now, the littlest one came flying in from school yesterday to tell us all about it, so it’s all worth it. I’m a sucker for a happy little kiddo. And these are some ridiculously cute kids.

All in all, I think it’s going to be an interesting holiday season. I had planned my holidays this year around the idea of relaxing calm, since last year’s holiday season was crazy busy and stressful. I definitely don’t think it’ll be calm anymore, I don’t think my house will be calm for a while, but I think it’ll be fun!

Until we chat again my friends

Rampin’ Up

Posted on November 18, 2022November 9, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

We are officially in the “i really should move to phoenix” time of year. I am trying to remind myself of all the good things about winter time, but I AM COLD and being unnecessarily dramatic about it. I’m currently under two blankets, with Watson hiding between them, in front of my heater, hugging a mug of warm tea, and hunting and pecking at my keyboard in an attempt to uncover as little from the blanket as possible. Cold.

But I have very, very exciting news. My trailer is back! It was living temporarily with a gentleman across the river while he built a custom ramp so Nellie Belle could have an easier time getting in and out. He did a fantastic job, I’m so so so pleased!

Isn’t it nice? It’s a little dirty here because I was standing out in some very severe winds. It was freezing but I was excited!

Currently there is one small, teeny, itsy bitsy little problem to resolve before it’s absolutely perfect. It weighs more than me and as such, I can lower it down, but it’s unwieldy enough that I can’t quite get it back up on my own. I kinda think it’s as simple as adding a second grappling point so I’m not trying to lift it straight from the ground to eye level, instead I can maybe swap to a better hand position half way through. But Dad thinks for safety it might be better to have a little bit of an assist. I tend to agree since in my last determined attempt I dropped it on my leg and I have some pretty serious bruises. But it’s a fixable issue, I’m wondering about a pulley assist or maybe something spring-y? We just haven’t puzzled it through yet, but the trailer is still very much work in progress and as we are getting colder I’m not in a huge hurry. (If anyone has cool trailer ramp lift assist ideas, I wanna know, share please!)

But overall I can not overstate how truly happy I am with this ramp, it’s so nice. The guy put a really nice non-skid mat on it for Nellie and the angle is perfect and he reworked the door handles and latch system so everything lays flat when it’s all closed up and it’s so perfect! I cannot even express to you my excitement.

I have a couple more metal works projects I’ve been putting off on the farm so I fully intend to ask my “trailer guy” to help me out again (that’s the designation next to his name in my phone, does anyone else do that? I have “Name McName (New Farrier)” and “So and So (Grandma’s Friend with the Peaches)” for example). He was such a gentleman, first of all, which I really appreciated. While I consider myself a pretty independent human, I’ve taken to bringing my dad or brother with me when meeting with new people, especially guys, because so many don’t take a girl seriously (or worse, but we don’t need to have that conversation today). Around here it’s incredibly common for me to call a service professional only to hear “sure, but can I please speak to the man of the house?”. I hate that but I’ve also learned to roll with it a little more in order to get things done. My dad, for the record, is a total legend about that and when they ignore me to talk to him he just puts his hands up and says “talk to the boss, she’s in charge”, and refuses to answer the questions. I was a little more understanding when I was a fresh faced 20 year old trying to get stuff done, but uh, I’ve got some patina on me now, no one’s accused me of skipping class or truancy in a very long time.

We’re going to paint it for rust proofing, but I didn’t have the correct paint on hand yet. It’s on the list!

But anyways, got off topic, my trailer guy is such a polite human, and absolutely went out of his way to help me out. He even delivered the trailer for me when he was done because he felt bad it took a while, even though we had decided it was no rush whatsoever (because he was doing a big job for one of the GIANT ranches around here and that’s the kinda job you want callbacks and referrals from). I really wanna get him some cookies or a coffee card or something to show some extra gratitude (I’ve mentioned before on this blog how important it is to be friendly with your favorite tradespeople, they truly make this world go ’round and can do things this girl can only dream of) but I’m worried about stepping on boundaries since he’s new and not used to my loud personality. Maybe I’ll just wait until I call him for the next project and give him something then.

Anyways, I’m off to go stare at my pretty trailer again, shout if you need me.

Until we chat again my friends!

Okay Google, How Do I…

Posted on November 11, 2022October 18, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

It’s officially pumpkin bread season, as I have been reminded by my brother repeatedly. I haven’t made much this year yet because everyone was on and off sick for so long and frankly, it’s a lot of work if no one’s going to feel good enough to enjoy it. It’s literally the only recipe I sift flour for, I do not know if it helps, but it’s my grandma’s recipe and I don’t want to disrespect it so, we sift.

It’s also soup season, and while usually I have to beg, plead, and be sneaky about soups for dinner this time of year (I’m pretty much the only soup lover, my moms ambivalent, and the guys are generally more against it) this year the family has surprised me and have been asking for my soups more. This is doubly surprising since the weather is still absolutely lovely. Colder yes, but even in the afternoons it’s been totally livable outside. I’m not complaining though, soups and warm weather? I’m being absolutely spoiled over here.

We’ve been digging egg drop soup around here lately because the mixins can make it an entirely different meal for each person. My moms a purist, she just likes the soup itself, sometimes with a little white rice. I like the soup itself a lot, but also I really like rice and some shredded seasoned chicken, a couple sprinkles of soy sauce and sesame oil. Dad’s favorite is whatever leftovers are in the fridge, so last time he added corned beef and some spaghetti noodles. For those who are freaking out, don’t worry, we keep our sauce and noodles separate for spaghetti, because yours truly can have lots of tomato based products, thanks to a latex allergy, and I usually make my own creamy Alfredo, so when I say he adds noodles, I just mean noodles. Christopher usually eats some combo of the above… or a pizza. He’s still my most stubborn soup holdout. But that’s fine, I appreciate that he tries every new weird thing I make, I don’t mind if it ends up not being his most favorite thing.

Christopher has been asking for my loaded baked potato soup again though, and I haven’t made that in so long; I’m really hoping I wrote it down somewhere. I’m really bad at making something yummy and then totally forgetting how I made it. I’m slowly getting better at that. Since I got a newer phone with a pen it seems easier to just scribble notes because I don’t have to bring a notepad with me. Downside is my handwriting is even worse than usual on a screen so deciphering my notes afterward leaves a lot to be desired. But I’ve always liked the tactile feel of physically ink writing over typing or tapping on a keyboard so this is a nice compromise for me. Just don’t tell my boss his software engineer just said she’s not a big fan of typing on a keyboard, that might not go over well.

I’ve been seriously thinking again about writing a little book of things for the family, in the event I’m or someone else is not around for a period of time for some reason. I’ve often thought about making notes like “here’s how to make [a specific food that Mom’s super into right now]” and “here’s how to doctor a minor dog wound and when to go to the vet”, Dad could add things like “which breaker is the microwave on” and “what to check in the basement in a rainstorm”. Those kinda things, ya know? Because I’m always striving to be as reachable as possible, but let’s face it, rural connectivity just fights you for no reason sometimes. I’ve been sitting at my desk, literally waiting for a phone call, and still missed the call because my phone didn’t ring. I’ve heard similar complaints from the boys. I sometimes think that maybe having a house “manual”, that everyone contributes knowledge to, would be a solid plan. Could also be a place for emergency numbers and health notices, that kinda thing.

The idea is not particularly new. When I initially moved out I created “Amanda’s Big Book of Adulting” full of things like how to check my car’s fluids and laundry tips and tricks. It’s analog and grossly outdated now obviously, but during its heyday it was an absolute essential that just lived in my desk. When Mom first started having issues I realized just how much I hadn’t asked her and simply can’t now, and I started to debate making a “dear future children…” book that explains things like taxes and how to license your car. Thing is, as time has gone on, I’ve become less and less certain I intend to have kiddos, and taxes have changed a little too. So, I’ve scrapped that idea until I actually decide if kiddos are happening. I think that’s probably the best course of action.

Maybe a “How to Take Long Nose Photos?” Section?

Regardless though, there’s data that needs recording, and a manual is the best option I can think of to make that work. I’m thinking it’ll live digitally, always growing and changing, with a physical binder bound back up, and then every so often we will print the changes and update the physical as needed.

Sounds like quite the project though, wish me luck.

Until we chat again my friends!

Nesting

Posted on November 4, 2022October 18, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

Well, it looks like everyone’s got the bug! Well, two bugs technically.

That was a bad opening line, but look, sometimes we just need a little cheese in our lives.

Anyways, first bug: everyone sans yours truly has had some sort of cold. Poor Christopher suffered for a couple weeks with a pretty solid sinus infection. He was miserable, the poor kid, and had to take a little time off work. No shame in taking time off if you need it, but Christopher’s a lot like me, it’s only fun to take time off when you can enjoy it. Why waste sick leave on being sick, ya know?

Then Mom ended up with an ear infection and a sinus infection, plus pneumonia. It hit her really hard post stroke, because on top of just not being that strong normally, she just doesn’t have the wherewithal to take the basic steps to help herself, and being fiercely independent, she’s not a big fan of being babied. But she had a pretty nasty, very persistent fever which is never good for anyone, but especially not someone who’s been expressly told to not get too hot. One doctor’s appointment later and she’s one the mend.

Poor Dad has been a little under the weather now too, although he refuses to admit it. He’ll be okay though, I think his shakes out to a cold and caregivers fatigue. Hopefully some rest and peace and quiet will sort him out.

Me? I’m lysoling everything like my life depends on it, gloving up like I have surgery on the schedule, and making egg drop soup like I’m a bona-fide line cook. Side note, egg drop soup is great for colds, because it’s basically broth with lots of protein. Aaaaannnd it’s great because you can make a bunch of white rice, some garlicky chicken, chop some scallions and set out the sesame oil and soy sauce, tada, a full on meal for the un-sick of the house. Just add whatever mixins you’re feeling that night. To be honest, it’s rapidly becoming one of my favorite meals so it’s no hardship to make it a couple times a week.

The second bug I was speaking to is the room reorganizing bug. See, in late July, I decided my birthday gift to myself was to start changing my room from “a place where my stuff lives” to “a place where I am happy and comfy to work and sleep and craft, etc”. I wrote about it then, and I’ve been slowly ticking off to-do list items since. It’s a slow process because I really wanna make intentional choices towards making it work the way I want, but I can say for certain putting my desk behind closet doors was the best decision for work life balance ever. Still lots to adjust and do but I’m terribly pleased with how it’s shaping up.

And it seems it’s catching. Just about everyone in the house is thinking about how to readjust their personal spaces so they work better. In some cases, like with mine, the pieces I’m slowly gathering are relatively minor, so my “reno” is pretty inexpensive, mostly a case of rethinking how to better use what I have. In other cases, like my brother, he’s slowly realizing the furniture from his youth is all bite sized and it’s causing a bit more of an issue. The boy needs a full sized dresser, he has no room for socks. He needs room for socks, it’s as simple as that.

He also really needs some bookshelves, he’s quite the collector of vintage and current video gaming memorabilia and his collection is starting to outgrow his space. A beautiful way to display those things is just what the doctor ordered.

Dad’s been redoing his den too. It’s sorta a den by accident, he started out in the front room, then got evicted from there when we needed the dining table back, then he worked at my grandmother’s antique desk in the master bedroom, but we recently decided that was the more accessible option to make into mom’s little craft corner (plus it weighs more than my horses so there’s no way it moves… probably ever again haha). We decided it was probably wise to get all his paperwork out of the bedroom anyway, so he wasn’t staring at it while trying to sleep. So now he’s down in the basement, which he’s made super cozy with lamps and memories. The wifi…. It almost sorta reaches, enough to check email and such if you’re patient, so it works for him, at least until we can get a reliable extender. He is slowly organizing it; we gifted him a set of shelves and a cute corner desk, and a fancy phone charger organizer thingy, so he’s feeling quite official. He’s also super excited he can have his music up as loud as he likes and we won’t complain (he listens to great music, he’s just losing his hearing so… ya know).

And, of course, you know what’s next: mom’s slowly making her little craft corner. I don’t think she has a plan quite yet, but the teacher in her is happy to be collecting her pens and stationary, and her yarn craft supplies all together. When she sorta works out what she needs, I promised a trip to the office supply store. She’s quite excited.

I’m pretty sure most of this is a natural response to the colder weather. We’re all just nesting so we have a cozy space to hide out in the winter. Won’t stop us from slowly going crazy with cabin fever by February, but we can try haha.

Until we chat again my friends!